The June Journal
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3 July, 2004
Paint in the Cockpit, Heat Exchanger, More Hatches
Cockpit prepped
The first coat of paint in the cockpit.
Painting fiberglass is an involved operation dependent on the whims of the weather. Stan started this project the last week of June. The June Gloom, with drizzle accompaniment, hampered operations. He ground out the blisters, filled them with epoxy filler (the beige stuff in the picture) sanded it smooth, primed and then applied a coat of paint. Into the bottom coat of paint went the non-skid, sprinkled on sand. A couple more coats of paint over that, and we've got a beautiful cockpit.
More Gale
Gale on SolMate's boom backed by the Long Beach skyline
Gale exploring the fish net rescue system
Gale is getting comfortable on SolMate. He leaps up on the dodger and then crawls up on top of the boom -- a great vantage point for performing ship's cat duties. He also perches on the solar panel when it's in the horizontal. Both dodger and solar panel offer no traction for a kitty's paws. Gale's going to be in for a big surprise when he tries these two locations in a bumpy anchorage....
Minney's flea market produced a piece of kitty rescue gear. With a long-handled fish net we'll be able to scoop a cat overboard out of the water.
Cat literature describes Maine Coon Cats as one of the most playful breeds. Gale has certainly proven that to be true. He's also a big talker, yowling to anyone who'll listen, and those who won't. He's got a weird habit of voiciferously explaining to his litter box how he's going to jump in and what he's going to do when he gets there.
Summer Sailstice on the Solstice
We invited our sailing buddies to join us for a dinghy raft-up at Island White. It's the longest day of the year, more daylight to sail. The raft-up was to have been after the sailing of the day was over. Summer Sailstice is an annual, international event: www.summersailstice.com
Friday before our planned Sailstice outing, Stan smelled antifreeze. It was from a recurring leak in the engine cooling system that he'd never been able to pinpoint. Well, this time he found it, one of the freshwater hoses on the heat exchanger. The hose is wire reinforced and part of the internal covering on the wire had worn away, exposing the wire and letting it corrode. After it corroded (for heaven-only-knows how many decades), it broke apart and one of the pointy ends punctured the hose. From the looks of the corrosion it may have been that way a long, long time. The hose may have lasted another day or another week, but my shipwright likes to baby the 'Beke, so....
Stan notified everyone we had invited out to Island White with the bad news, removed the heat exchanger and hoses and ordered new ones. So there we sat in our slip, with our engine in pieces, on the longest sailing day of the year.
Fixing the Heat Exchanger
The heat exchanger and the errant hose with wire reinforcement corroding inside
The heat exchanger has been boiled in oil. Not exactly oil. Acid. Tempco, our local radiator shop, cleaned it and primed it for us. It'll be our spare, it's only four years old (replaced at the Valiant factory), but we bought a new one, anyway. We also stocked up on hose. A length of new high-pressure hose, enough to fix this problem plus enough in the spares locker for contingencies, cost a whopping $6/foot. The stainless steel wire reinforcing is expensive.
From the looks of the corrosion inside the hoses and wires, the heat exchanger was probably the only new part installed. The copper junction where the water hoses teed off to the water heater was really bad. Stan wasn't happy with the copper and replaced it with bronze fittings that shouldn't corrode as quickly. We hope.
The hose connection tee that formed the water heater branch connection.
The new tee fitting installed in the midst of a mass of engine wires and hoses.
All Four Hatches Have Been Installed!
The galley hatch being fitted over newly painted deck section
The galley hatch from the inside with the screen open
Installing new hatches is a phenomenal amount of work, but it's all worth it. These Lewmar hatches have more neat features than the Bomar we installed in the v-berth, like hinged screens. The screens are still completely removable; they simply pop in and out. Hinged screens make access to the hatch much more convenient. To access the v-berth hatch, the whole screen has to be removed. Someday, we'll figure out a way to install hinges on that screen, too.
There is one feature of the Bomar hatch that's mo' better, the darker tint. The lighter Lewmar hatches let in alot of light and heat and will require some sort of shade covers in the swelter of Baja. Another project for ship's seamstress.
